Philadelphia Eagles: QBs' similar styles make for a great game

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) runs with the ball as New York Giants' Rocky Bernard (95) pursues during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

PHILADELPHIA — You aren’t going to find two quarterbacks who hate giving up on a play any more than Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger.

It’s fitting they both wear No. 7. In the three-step drop NFL, they can make your average broken play last seven seconds or more — on a slow day.

Escaping, improvising and bouncing off hits, scrambling, evading tacklers and letting the ball loose, they can break the backs of defenses who have done everything right to contain them.

They fill the seats. They make fans jump out of them.

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The TV network executives must have figured Vick would be injured by now. They really blew it using a 1 p.m. kickoff on Vick and the Eagles taking on Roethlisberger and the Steelers Sunday. This has prime time and fight to the finish written all over it.

For football fans, watching Vick and Roethlisberger play is to live vicariously through their unique skills sets. It evokes memories of youth, of the days plays were drawn in the dirt. Games didn’t end until dark and the old guy next door understood when the football bounced onto his property.

It brings back the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

It’s not that hard to visualize Vick and Roethlisberger choosing sides. The quarterbacks usually picked the players.

Returning to reality, Vick lists at 6-0, 215-pounds. When you stand next to him, you’re tempted to ask, “Really?”

Roethlisberger is an imposing 6-5, 241-pounds. Eagles players insist he’s bigger when you try to get him on the ground.

What makes you want to watch them is their verve.

Vick extends plays with his athleticism, quickness, speed and feel for the game. When he reverses directions, you can tweak a muscle trying to keep up with him. He’s inspirational as much for the hits he survives as those sprints around the edge and head-first lunges to reach the first down or the goal line.

“I think Mike’s a great quarterback,” Roethlisberger said. “He can extend plays better than anybody. And he’s got a video game arm. I mean, his arm, he can make every throw. And it’s special to watch. That will be big for our defense Sunday to try to get after him and eliminate the big play from him.”

Roethlisberger plays with power and will. Few players, almost by themselves, have given the Steelers a better chance to win. He’s a headache for defensive coordinators. Offensive coordinators who watch even a little tape of Roethlisberger are glad they don’t coach the defense.

“Big Ben, he’s just so big and strong,” Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. “It’s uncanny what he does back there in the pocket because of the great strength. It’s natural strength, much of it. He’s an instinctive player. I hate talking too much about the opponent’s quarterback but I’ve got great respect for him.”

Roethlisberger has a fan in Vick, who understands, who feels that same burn to win on almost every play.

“Ben extends the play just as well as me,” Vick said. “I’m a big fan of Ben. I always watch him because first off, we both wear No. 7 and he’s a great player. He’s been great since he stepped on the field.”

Vick showed last week he can focus and manage a football game. Playing a more controlled style, he went turnover-less for the first time this season in leading the Eagles (3-1) to a dramatic win over the defending Super Bowl-champion Giants.

The lessons Vick learned against the Cardinals could serve him well this week as the Steelers play a similar 3-4 defense.

Roethlisberger and the Steelers are off to a rocky 1-2 start. He’s been unable to count on the ground game and, until the last game, which was two weeks ago due to the bye, the offensive line. The Steelers haven’t found their rhythm. This almost is a do-or-die week for that.

All of that makes this a game to die for.

The only problem with refusing to give up on plays is that it can lead to colossal mistakes, injury and defeat.

Roethlisberger and Vick are not only known for making big plays but for giving them up.

“There’s a real fine line to that,” Mornhinweg said. “These style of quarterbacks, which I’ve coached many of them, there’s just that fine line that you don’t want to cross. You still want them to have their creativity. That’s what’s made them so good and got them to this point. However, you just want to minimize the just crazy plays. So that thought process has worked in my career.”

Roethlisberger has quieted the craziness enough to win two Super Bowls and reach a third.

Vick is still looking for No. 1. If he builds on the win over the Giants, the way the Eagles’ defense is playing he could be a work in progress.